11 January 2017
Maybank Foundation launches entrepreneurship programme for PWDs, marginalised sector in the Philippines
The Reach Independence and Sustainable Entrepreneurship (RISE) programme will initially train 100 PWDs from Metro Manila
Maybank Foundation launches in the Philippines on Wednesday, January 11 the R.I.S.E. (Reach Independence and Sustainable Entrepreneurship), a programme that has already been successfully running in Malaysia and Indonesia.
R.I.S.E. is targeted to participants from underprivileged communities — mainly people with disabilities (PWDs) — to help them increase their income without the need for business startup grants. R.I.S.E. programme is also designed to train, coach, and mentor participants to develop their entrepreneurial skills resulting in higher income levels, thus improving their overall standard of living.
The foundation is pouring in an initial P6 million for the R.I.S.E. entrepreneurship-mentorship programme pilot in the country — a significant investment by Maybank in the Philippines for corporate social responsibility. Under this programme, selected participants will attend a three-day Entrepreneurship & Financial Training session, followed by a six-month mentoring period where they will be trained and coached to develop their entrepreneurial skills to help them achieve higher income levels and improve their overall standard of living.
“This year, Maybank will be marking its 20th year in the Philippines,” Maybank International CEO Pollie Sim said. “What an opportune time to celebrate this significant milestone than to roll out a successful program in the Philippines, a key market of the Maybank Group,” she added. The Philippines was chosen for the second phase of the programme that started in September 2014 in Malaysia. R.I.S.E will be launched in Metro Manila this January and will be expanding to Cebu by March.
“Our commitment to supporting and empowering the disadvantaged, especially PWDs, is very much in line with Maybank’s mission of humanising financial services,” Maybank Foundation CEO Shahril Azuar Jimin emphasized.
RISE aims to have at least 40% of its participants gain an income increase of 100% within three months. Now on its second phase, it has already trained 1,400 participants in Malaysia and 200 in Indonesia. For its pilot training in the Philippines this month, 100 participants each from Manila and Cebu have been identified through Maybank Foundation’s partner organizations, People Systems Consultancy and the Philippines’ Department of Social Welfare and Development.
“When we meet these people, especially those who really want to better themselves, we find that they don’t look for dole-outs, they just want opportunity,” added Shahril.
Shahril said that the programme has been expanded to other territories like the Philippines to include more participants. He added that the pilot project was a huge success in Malaysia, as it resulted in an increase of 411.7% in average income per individual for the top 40% of the pilot participants. “It encouraged us to move into phase two of the programme [which was launched on August 5, 2015], where we expanded the scope to a total of 1,800 people in three countries namely Malaysia (1,400); Indonesia (200 as pilot); and the Philippines (200 as pilot), of which 70% will comprise PWDs,” said Shahril.
